The Reason for Runners' Good Health

It came to me suddenly on lane 7 of 12 I ran a few minutes ago on the Brattleboro High School track. I think I can identify the reason for runners living longer with much lower incidence of most reasons for most deaths among humans. I had been thinking of ideas of others such as that the liver is responsible for over 200 functions we learned in veterinary school. Also one person refuses to eat liver because it filters out so much waste from our bodies. He does not want that waste in his system. It is correct that the liver is a great cleansing organ of the body among other things. Now suppose when runners exercise much more blood is circulated all through the body including the liver where waste materials are not eliminated by typical slow circulation of blood.
It seems reasonable to me that some toxic substances may build up in the liver in those who lead a sedentary life as compared to the runner who regularly flushes a huge volume of blood through that organ while running. If my thinking is correct there is another possibility and that is that for every problem that is prevented by running, then each may be due to some toxic waste from the environment and not from some strange infective agent not identified. Examples are half as much breast cancer in women runners, many fewer strokes, much less heart disease and longer life all due to toxic stuff in the environment and not due to some unknown infection. It offers researchers a direction to study to be more successful in solving many problems. How's that for another sermon?

To Level Teachers' Fields in Educaton

It has been said in many ways that the finished product often depends on the raw material put in initially. So it is with education. A bright child well on it's way to learning before entering our public education system will be a superior finished product.(some exceptions) With the children in inner cities of most school systems the dropout rate by high school is astounding but understandable. To judge the performance of teachers by class progress as been done with the No Child Left Behind program is unfair to teachers in the inner cities. I have a suggestion to make to put the spotlight on the problem that many educators recognize but little has been done to rectify. Develop a test to be given to the class of students entering the system and to decide on a numerical rating for each class. Say a rating of from 1 to 10. In a suburban area near a school of higher learning as with a university, the children of parents of the area might be expected to be better prepared than those in a depressed inner city population. And a school might register an 8 out of a possible 10 where as the inner city children might be only a 2. Each teacher would spend the first week or so giving tests on vocabulary, reading and writing and arithmetic. At the conclusion it would be expected that the students would climb a given number of rungs of the ladder of learning based on past experience each of marking periods. Parents as well as the students should be told of the importance of learning as it will influence the kind of life the student will be qualified for when older. For a class of 8th graders leaped ahead from a scholarship grade of say 5 to an 8 that teacher might be declared Teacher of the Year or some other honorarium. The classes entering with a 1 or 2 would be shown in need of special education just as other handicapped children are. Many teachers are altruistic in teaching to help children, even disadvantaged children,that they should be recognized for progress in teaching these handicapped children and rewarded for that special contribution. Moreover, recognizing the intellectually disadvantaged should attract interest in improving the lot of the early education that is recognized by most as inadequate for groups of students in cities all over our land. So, coincidentally are gangs of marauding school dropouts in many cities over our land.

What You Don't know Wont Hurt You?

If you were my vintage you know what the Regular Army used to be. What do you know about it today and why don't you know much?. For example when was the last time you heard the expression, "KP" mentioned? How about,"MP?" I read that there are over 250,000 civilians connected with the troops as support,"Over There." In my day they wore uniforms and were paid soldier's wages, not twice as much. There were "Service Commands" to supply the needs of the troops. I wonder if the waiters who serve the catered food prepared by hirelings get to keep their tips?
Does everybody know that all an enemy has to do to beat our military is to pay off the caterers to stop feeding our troupes and it's all over. Are you so naive that you think people cannot be paid off to get away with anything? All it takes is big bucks. No doubt to get all the back-up military work privatized cost a lot to pay off those who approved the legality of it. We have to assume that over 50% of our legislators have been bought and paid for or the majority would not permit the wealthy minority to get away with it.
Here is a history quiz. Did you learn it in High School or before? Do you agree with it? I do.Who wrote it?
"Corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money-power of the country will endeavor to prolong it's reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all the wealth is aggregated in few hands and the Republic is destroyed." Abraham Lincoln
It's happening before our open eyes. It's time for action.

The Short Life of a Diagnosis

The title concerns an issue reported in the N Y Times this morning. It raises some interesting ideas that I would like to mention and perhaps see some comments on. So come along to a conclusion I have reached and play detective with me. Where the issue raised In the Times concerns humans, as a veterinarian I shall add a bit about lower animals to help reach my final thoughts. First there are clues that we must accept. The first one being that pregnant mammals can, by what is ingested, affect developing embryos. The history of pregnant women injuring their developing embryos by what they eat must be agreed upon. An example is the resulting babies born defective from the mothers having ingested the drug, Thalidomide. the second clue, in lower animals an example is a cow ingesting a plant that must be called poisonous when deformed calves are produced after a mothers eating it.
The subject in the Times report was autism and the Asperger Syndrome which together are considered one by many experts.
The next clue concerns the observation of autism. It appeared in a significant number of cases about 1940 and Aspergers was first reported in German in 1944. Prior to those dates if the problem existed, it had not been recognized worthy enough to be named. I believe a case can be made that the problem did not exist prior to about those dates. That statement may be suspect and should be investigated.
Let's go on. If autism is a new disease, science has focused on symptoms and not cause. With such a newborn problem, what are the possible causes? Science must place it in the group with problems such as ALS, cancer and the likes. With autism, could it be in the catagory with such as gastric ulcers?
Between the cause and treatment of gastric ulcers in humans was a 20 or so year period during which time the veterinary profession had identified the cause and treatment for hogs as a bacteria and the treatment. For the higher mammal during the years to find the answer it was speculated that it had a psychological answer and patients were cataloged as certain types of personalities that were involved. scientific papers were published until someone made the discovery that the vet profession had solved that cause and cure 20 years before. The human solution was the same one that cured the pigs without addressing their personalities. My point here is that perhaps the vet profession could help solve the autism problem not even recognized in lower animals. So we are nearing some possible answers. The first question may be, "What could have happened in the environment at around 1940 that could have caused such a problem as autism?" Now let's leave that question to ask again shortly. In about 1940 a new problem appeared in the vet world. It was called hip dysplasia in dogs. It was reported in the literature as a genetic problem but and that but is important because the problem was soon identified in all breeds and genetic traits don't spread from one breed to all breeds in dogdome. Now we can ask the identical question asked above,namely,what could have happened in the environment at around 1940 that could have caused such a problem?" That presents another question, "Could there be something new in the environment that could have affected both humans and canines simultaneously?" Another question comes to mind, "But the problems are so different." an answer could be, "So are the species."
I have tried to answer that question and find that a substance classed as "grass" became popular at about that time and should be suspect until proven otherwise. The word grass stands for, "generally regarded safe." With such a classification and I don't know how that was arrived at, is it possible a toxic substance has flooded our food without having been thoroughly investigated? Of course with new preservatives and combination's of additives, could our testing of combinations of additives fallen through cracks?
We all know that preservatives starting with heating have saved countless human lives but if it is a preservative that depends for effectiveness on the rolling of the dice with some helped and others helped into the grave, a pause is suggested for investigating a possible injurious one.

Mystery Black Book

I hold in my hand a small genuine leather note book. Flipping to some of the notes I believe it must belong to a banker. It has loose leaf pages with notes from others. After returning from a mornings shopping and then a Rotary luncheon, on getting out of my car there was the book on the passenger seat. I gathered it up with my mail and other stuff and carried it into my pad with a curiosity as to who might have left it by mistake. I finally got around to looking in the book for a name and address which was not on the first few pages but the names of some large banks were the headings of pages. Having learned about the dishonesty in so many banks' management I sat down to study this strange document. After an interruption and watching the news I reconsidered the strange book. The more I flipped through the pages the more I wondered about the source of the thing. Who do I know who would be involved with so many well known Banks and so many. There were headings such as "So&so is on board." On the page headed with the name of a big bank was written, "So & so is still holding out." Those words were crossed out with a date under the words and the word "until," added to several. Page after page of banks with notes that suggested to me that this was some dreamer or perhaps some executive's notes about deals. If so where a note referred to 100 I wondered if it referred to thousand or could it be million? It was getting late and I decided to sack out and study the book in the morning. I tossed and turned and checked the clock which indicated morning had arrived so finally I turned on the light and sitting up in bed decided that that book in my hands may be dynamite. It looked to me like lists of loans made by banks all over the country. Mortgages with values or estimates so that the figures must have been bundles of loans on each page and by totals an X with double the first figure following rows of entries. My conclusion at this point is that a bunch of mortgages of a given value were listed as worth twice as much as the banks had claimed. In one place the words, "all eight of us." was written.I think the author had had some engineering education by the symmetrical shapes that were drawn here and there as with doodling. I became so engrossed that dawn was breaking before I had scrutinized the last page of that book. Who put this thing in my car? Why my car? I wonder if it is some F.B.I.agent's misplaced book? There were some dates here and there that ranged from 2003 to several months ago. What should I do with it and about it? I asked a lawyer friend if he had any suggestions. He said, First don't mention that you have such a book. Second if you do mention it don't mention any of the banks by name or you might be sued. Third put the thing in a safe deposit box or bury it somewhere. Then he made a good suggestion, "Don't do a thing. Just wait until someone contacts you." So I have been waiting for a full month suspecting everybody and wondering if someone will get in touch with me. So I decided to make a blog out of it and look for comments after which I will write a followup blog. What do you think I should do? FBI? One of my Senators? Once it's known I have that book am I in any danger? Incidentally, I have had five copies made that all are in safe places.

Raw Eggs and Whisky?

A beloved relative of mine has generalized malignant melanoma. The skin lesion removed I believe 14 years ago has spread throughout her body. Conventional medical knowledge has no suggestions or hope for her. As a veterinarian with 50 years of veterinary experience I have urged a treatment for her and here is the reasoning for my suggestion. I shall put parts of seemingly unrelated thoughts together together and the resulting scientific reasons for embracing the treatment. I have told my relative I will write this to support the theory,
My first memory was a human situation. I had grade one infectious hepatitis, turned bright yellow, lost 25 pounds in 14 days and looking in a mirror decided I was dying.My father, with contacts at the Yale Medical School brought one of the world's experts in liver disease out to see me and advise. Incidentally that doctor was Dr. John Paul who at that time was the Chairman of the United Nations Commission on Jaundice. After a discussion Dr. Paul said, "There is no treatment for you and I will give you just two bits of advice. First, don't take vitamins and second , don't let them git you into a hospital." He wished me well and left. On the way back to the Hospital Dr. Paul told my father that those taking vitamins or had then given by injection had a significantly higher death rate than those who do not take vitamins. Also the death rate in hospital treated cases is much higher than those treated at home. That information is the first piece of the puzzle leading to my advice to my relative. The second was also a human observation. In my younger days I was a raccoon hunter but long since graduated to be against killing anything for the fun of it. A Yale animal psychologist enjoyed going on coon hunts with me and I noticed he brought out a pill bottle and ate some regularly. I asked why? He said frankly I enjoy alcohol and it robs the system of vitamin B complex. That was another piece of the puzzle. Next came a veterinary part. In the early days of my practice we had a highly fatal disease of dogs called Canine Distemper for which there was no treatment and virtually a 100% mortality. In our experimental kennels I recall 75 bodies lying like a pile of cord wood waiting for spring thaws to dig the mass grave for them. In our Clinic clients would bring in litter after litter of sick puppies and all would die. Not infrequently on owner would say one of the puppies had been given away and it was still living. I did not believe it but finally the statement was so frequent I asked for the name and address of those with such a puppy. Three times in a row came the same treatment, almost apologetically, "We gave the puppy raw eggs and whiskey." I didn't go to veterinary school for four years to learn of raw eggs and whiskey as a treatment. Perhaps two weeks later a new client presented a beautiful Old English Sheepdog that was having, "Chewing gum spasms". His veterinarian advised the 10 week old puppy be euthanized and as a second opinion I agreed. Then I thought of the phone calls and although I feared being called a quack I told him about the dark age treatment and he decided to try it even if it was a waste of time. The puppy recovered with no side affects as a normal puppy. There was some thought of coincidence although I had never seen a puppy with those spasms recover. The same results with a neighbor's dog and my daughter and her husband in New York State had the same results. At that time we had a very effective inoculation with which the disease was eliminated from dog dome. After I retired I began to consider the above situations and came to the following conclusions. 1. Raw egg white is indigestible in humans and dogs.
2. Raw egg white has been shown to deplete the system of at least part of the vitamin B complex. 3. Whiskey depletes the system of vitamin B1, thiamine chloride. 4.It es recognized that viruses require certain nutritious environments to survive. 5. we know that the cause of most cancer is unknown but we have to assume it is caused by something for which in most cases no therapeutic treatment has been effective. 6. From my experience with Dr. Paul's suggestion, giving vitamins with some infective diseases fertilizes the causative agent. 7. I t is known that if a patient lives for a given time he or she will have reached the climax and will recover. In such cases it is possible that with no vitamin intake the stored vitamin may have been exhausted weakening the cause perhaps enough for the immune system to take charge. In conclusion the causative agent if known or not should not be fertilized and the host may be able to out live the agent.In a case like my relative,in which the cause is a mystery since in my opinion my suggestion could be the medication to be effective. It is an approach I would embrace. One fresh raw egg mixed with 1 tablespoon of whiskey twice a day and reevaluate the schedule in a week.The chance of salmonilla infection is remote in uncrcked eggs.

The Black Book

Much has been said about transparency and herein is a suggestion. When the latest drug law was enacted that placed the AARP as a group favoring it's passage in spite of legislating making it illegal for AARP members and others to purchase identical medications from Canada at often half the price of those in our country,I was upset. As the President of the Orange, CT chapter I wrote a letter asking who were the AARP leaders who put the weight of the organization to favor the legislation? I wanted names and addresses. Furthermore I stated that if notice of that information and the firing of those responsible did not occur promptly I would recommend the dissolution of our chapter. Of course nothing happened so I resigned and the chapter members all resigned in both disappointment and disgust. Such information should be readily available to the interested public. This government under the cloak of secrecy amounts to rotten government and must come to a screeching halt. Here is one way to head in the right direction. Create a "Black Book" with not only the names but addresses be published for the offense for all to see and to evaluate. For example those who agreed to support the legislation on the board of directors of the AARP should have been published so that we the members when voting could vote them off the Board and also they would be disgraced as the members evaluated the action. I have asked the Conn. legislators to give me the name of the person who proposed that part of the bill. The silence is still deafening. Again in that legislation who suggested the subsidies of tax payers money to be paid to the drug companies? Of the many forms of punishment ridicule and exposure are powerful tools. Think about it, if you knew your name would become known for some dishonesty wouldn't you be hesitant about having your name known? Some would do it for the cash in it if the cash were more important than reputation. If with every bill to be voted on in the House and Senate had the author of every amendment on the bill then you and I could zero in on the author. As it is all kinds of pork get attached and no one knows who is the culprit. If a, "Black Book" exists at present we all should read it and help the authors are so we the voters could cry, "foul" as well as advertise it. Who would be against such a book? How can we influence the present administration to embrace the idea? It's time for a change. What do you think of that idea?